


To Be Cared For

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 10:17:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19990504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "We’ve had a lot of fic about Jack learning that the other Guardians think of him a friend/family member, which eventually leads him to trust them and confiding to them about his insecurities and problems.I’d like to see the opposite of that. When Jack realizes the other Guardians think of him as a friend/family member, he sort of distances himself and puts up fronts and smokescreens and never asks for help or advice about anything. He does this because he’s insecure and believes that the Guardians would think less of him if they realized he has so many issues.Eventually, this is resolved, but not Jack has to suffer through the ramifications from constantly isolating himself from anyone who could help.Give me ANGST, and DESPAIR, and INTERNAL STRUGGLES.(Fatherly!North is great, too).In summary: Jack refuses to trust the other Guardians no matter how much they tell it’s okay to do so. Angst and realizations ensue."While these aren’t my favorite kinds of prompts, they’re all right because with my short fills I can just skip right to the resolution. This time it’s held in Dreamland. There’s hugs.





	To Be Cared For

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 6/12/2016.

“But how did you know that anything was wrong?” Jack asked, from within the thick, fluffy blanket Sandy had insisted on wrapping him in when they had reached Dreamland.  
  
Bunny sighed. “At least you’re not denying it, now, that’s something.”  
  
“None of you were believing me, of course I’d stop telling you that nothing was wrong! Especially when Sandy decided to literally drag me back here!”  
  
Sandy gave Jack a small smile and raised his eyebrows. Of course he had done that.  
  
“Sandy does favor direct approach,” North said. “He was worried. And we all should have approached you sooner, anyway.”  
  
“But I…I know I didn’t act there was anything wrong. Did I? Did I miss noticing something huge about the way I acted?”  
  
“No,” said Tooth. “You didn’t act like anything was wrong at all, and it was only a couple months after we defeated Pitch that everything seemed to be going back to normal. But that normal was the same normal as before you were a Guardian. We weren’t going out in the world, we were becoming too preoccupied with our duties to have time for anything else—to have time for anything fun. You were right to point out that that was a problem, before you joined us. But when we fell into our old habits you didn’t say anything, even when we did manage to see you.”  
  
North nodded. “We first assumed that you had simply thrown yourself into your new Guardian duties. No doubt that would be very exciting! And I know I have a tendency to try to manage things. So I did not say anything because I wanted to show, not just tell you, that I trusted you.”  
  
“Didn’t think you’d take kindly to my interference, either,” Bunny said. “But when Sandy said you weren’t talking to him even though now you knew you could, he figured out that there had to be a problem.”  
  
Jack ducked down in the blanket. “Sorry, Sandy,” he said.  
  
Sandy shook his head. The important thing was that he hadn’t just thought Jack was being rude.  
  
Jack’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t want to be a burden…” He shook his head and looked up. “I didn’t mean to say that!”  
  
“Welcome to Dreamland,” Bunny said. “There’s a tendency to be more honest and open here than in other places. It’s the kind of thing that would make me nervous, but since Sandy’s in charge, I think we’ll be fine.”  
  
Jack gave Sandy a somewhat dismayed look; Sandy gave Jack a hug.  
  
Jack slumped forward. “Fine, then. So. I don’t know if I’ve done enough to deserve…anything that it seems like I’m being offered. And I…I didn’t want to do anything that might make you not want me around. I don’t know how to be around people. With kids it’s different, I always know what to do, then. I think it must have something to do with being a Guardian. But around you…I don’t know. You seem to want me to be as close as family with you, but I don’t know what I can add. You were all fine before me, and now I’m a Guardian, so I should be fine, too, and as a Guardian I am, I swear I am, I can do that, it’s just, there’s so much I wish for, and maybe need, and I don’t know! I was alone for a long time and now I feel like I could only take from all of you—trust and friendship and everything like that! And—touch! Sandy just hugged me now like it was something totally ordinary, but it’s not, not for me, and I can’t expect you to give me enough attention to make up for three hundred years alone, because if I was worth that, I wouldn’t have been alone for three hundred years in the first place!” Jack buried his face in his hands. “No,” he said miserably. “No, I can’t be like this, I’m the Guardian of Fun, I’m—”  
  
“You are Jack Frost,” North said. “And you have a self that is different from you center. And we should have made this more clear.”  
  
“And we’re not the kind of complete that doesn’t have room for one more,” Tooth said. “You’ve already brought us closer together. You’ve already helped us to think more of the children again, not just our duties.”  
  
“Everyone,” Bunny said, “the thing is, this isn’t about what the facts are. Right, Jack? This is about how you feel.”  
  
Jack raised his head enough to nod, seeming surprised.  
  
Bunny sighed. “So it’s not something that’s going to get fixed quickly.” He moved so he was sitting next to Jack on the giant pillow that Sandy had provided. “But we’ve got plenty of time to spend together, so we don’t have to panic.”  
  
“But it seems so selfish…I’m three hundred years old. Is there any way where that can make sense with me wanting to be cared for? I mean, just a little, just a little, just…” Jack yelped as North scooped him into a bear hug.  
  
“I do not care if this makes sense!” North said. “And I do not do things just a little bit!”  
  
“That’s—agh!—very true,” Bunny said, as North added him to the hug. Tooth and Sandy zipped and floated in as well, and they all felt Jack slowly untense against them.  
  
We are all going to take a nap, now, Sandy signed very definitively. North laughed and leaned back into the pillow, and Sandy scattered dreamsand over them all.  
  
Just before they all dozed off—and maybe because Jack’s timing was not as precise as he would have wanted—Jack said, very quietly, “Can we make this a regular thing?”  
  
As they all slipped into dreams, each of the Guardians decided that Jack wouldn’t have to know they had heard him in order for the answer to be “yes.” 


End file.
